Method for processing ceramic powder suspension

ABSTRACT

A method for preparing a ceramic powder suspension is disclosed. A dispersant having a following structural formula is provided:  
                 
 
     wherein D is H or COOR 1 ; R 1  is a hydrogen atom, or an alkyl group, a cyclic aliphatic group, an aryl group, having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or a cationic salt group; R 2  is an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, a cyclic aliphatic having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R 3  is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; Z is an oxygen atom or an NH group; A is —COO —SO 3  or an acid form; a is an integer between 1 to 5000; and p and q are integers between 1 to 10. The dispersant is dissolved in a solvent. Ceramic powder is further added into the solvent with the dispersant.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan applicationserial no. 92103874, filed on Feb. 25, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a suspension.More particularly, the present invention relates to a method forprocessing a ceramic powder suspension.

2. Description of Related Art

Fine ceramics refer to ceramic materials that use highly refined powderingredients and are precisely processed to provide the particularmicrostructure and exceptional functions. Functionally, these materialsare more thermal resistant, more durable, etch-resisted than theconventional ceramic materials. Further, they also comprise optical,electrical and magnetic properties. The fine ceramics are thus widelyused and is becoming a significant industrial material in the fixture.

As the particle size of ceramic powder reduces from a micrometer levelto a sub-micron level or even to a nanometer level, particleagglomeration in a suspension becomes a serious issue. An effectivedispersing agent thereby plays an important role in the processing ofceramic powder. For a barium titanate water based slurry, the currentindustry often uses Darvan C (PMAAN) as a dispersing agent. The chemicalname of Darvan C (PMAAN) is ammonium polymethacrylate, which can providea certain degree of dispersing effect. However, there is still room forimprovement. When PMAAN is used as a dispersing agent for a bariumtitanate slurry, barium titanate in water reacts with hydrogen ions todissociate barium ions, and the physicochemical property at the surfaceof barium titanate becomes similar to that of titanium dioxide. Thedissociated barium ions are re-absorbed onto the surface of the powder.The ratio of barium to titanium of the powder not only changes, thethickness of a Ba-depleted, TiO₂-rich surface layer of the powder alsobecomes greater due to the dissolution of the barium ions. The surfacestructure is thereby less dense and an abnormal grain growth is resultedduring sintering. The quality of the product is adversely affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for processing aceramic powder suspension, wherein the ceramic powder suspension has afavorable dispersing ability and is stable.

The present invention also provides a method for processing a ceramicpowder suspension, wherein the dissolution of barium ions in the slurryis reduced.

The present invention further provides a method for preparing a ceramicpowder suspension, wherein the packing of the product formed by theceramic powder suspension is denser.

In accordance to the present invention, a method for preparing a ceramicpowder suspension comprises providing a dispersing agent having afollowing structure:

wherein D is H or COOR₁; R₁ is, for example, a hydrogen atom, or analkyl group, a cyclic aliphatic group or an aryl group, having 1 to 10carbon atoms, or a cationic salt group; R₂ is an alkyl group, a cyclicaliphatic or an aryl group, having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R₃ is hydrogenor a methyl group; Z is an O atom or an NH group; A is a —COOgroup, a—SO₃ group or an acid form; a is an integer between 1 to 5000, while pand q are integers between 1 to 10. The dispersant is dissolved in asolvent. The ceramic powder is then added to the solvent with thedispersant to form a ceramic slurry.

The present invention further provides a method for forming a ceramicpowder suspension, which comprises providing a dispersant. Thedispersant is a poly(acrylamide/α-(N-N-dimethyl-acryloyloxyethyl))ammonium ethanate) copolymer

(PAAM/DAAE) having the follow chemical structure:

wherein R is H⁺, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺ or other cationic group; m is an integerfrom 10 to 5000; n is an integer from 10 to 3000. Thereafter, thedispersant is dissolved in a solvent. A ceramic powder is then added tothe solvent with the dispersant to form a ceramic slurry.

The present invention further provides a method for preparing a ceramicpowder suspension, wherein a dispersant is provided and the dispersantis a polyacrylamide/α-(N,N-dimethyl-N-(3-(β-carboxylate)acrylamino)propyl)ammonium ethanate)copolymer (PAAM/DAE) having the following chemical structure:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are H⁺, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺ or other cationic group; m is aninteger from 10 to 5000; n is an integer from 10 to 3000. The dispersantis dissolved in a solvent. The ceramic powder is further added to thesolvent with the dispersant to form the ceramic slurry.

In accordance to the present invention, using thepoly(acrylamide/α-(N-N-dimethyl-acryloyloxyethyl)) ammonium ethanate)(PAAM/DAAE) copolymer as a dispersant for the ceramic powder, thedispersion of the resulting slurry is good. The raw material formed fromthe slurry has a higher packing density and the ceramic sample canretain a compact shape without distortions after sintering. Further,using barium titanate ceramic powder as an example, the dissolution ofbarium ions is minimal after adding the PAAM/DAAE dispersant. Abnormalbarium titanate grain growth is reduced during sintering and the ceramicsample is formed with a densified microstructure after sintering.Further, not only the dissolution of barium ions in the barium titanateslurry is reduced, the barium titanate powder also becomes lessaggregated or agglomerated due to dispersing effect. The slurry ismostly in a suspended state rather than in a sediment state. In otherwords, the dispersant provides a desirable dispersing effect andstability to the barium titanate ceramic powder slurry.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended toprovide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is diagram illustrating the particle size distribution of bariumtitanate in the slurry using different dispersants.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount ofdispersant added and dielectric constant of the barium titanate sample,for two different dispersants, under a sintering temperature of 1280° C.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of thedispersant added and dielectric loss of the barium titanate sample, fortwo different dispersants, under a sintering temperature of 1280° C.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between viscosity of thebarium titanate slurry and the amount of the dispersant added, for twodifferent dispersants.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sedimentationtime and the sedimentation volume of the barium titanate slurry atdifferent weight percent of PAAM/DAAE.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sedimentationtime and the sedimentation volume of the barium titanate slurry atdifferent weight percent of PMAAN.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between different amountsof the dispersant added and the amount of the barium ions dissolved.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the particle size (d₁₀) of the bariumtitanate in the slurry with different amounts of the dispersant.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the viscosity ofthe barium titanate slurry and the different amounts of PAAM/DAE added.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sedimentationtime and the sedimentation height of the barium titanate slurry withdifferent amounts of PAAM/DAE added.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sedimentationtime and the sedimentation height of the barium titanate slurry withdifferent amounts of PMAAN.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the amounts of the barium ions dissolved atdifferent amounts of the dispersant.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The copolymer that serves as a dispersant in the present invention hasthe following chemical structure:

wherein D is H or COOR₁, wherein R₁ is, for example, a hydrogen atom, oran alkyl group, a cyclic aliphatic group or an aryl group, having 1 to10 carbon atoms, or a cationic salt group; R₂ is an alkyl group, acyclic aliphatic or an aryl group, having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R₃ is ahydrogen atom or a methyl group; Z is an oxygen atom or an NH group; Ais a —COO group, a —SO₃ group or an acid form; a is an integer between 1to 5000, while p and q are integers between 1 to 10. The dispersant isdissolved in a solvent. The ceramic powder is then added to the solventwith the dispersant to form a ceramic slurry. The present invention canbe better understood by way of the following description of using thederivatives of the copolymer dispersant of the present invention whichare representative of the different aspects of the present inventionwhich are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

First Embodiment

Before detailing the first embodiment of the present invention, theformation of the dispersant used in the present invention is discussedbelow.

Method of Forming the Copolymer as a Dispersant

The formation of an .alpha.-(N,N-dimethyl-(N-acryloyloxyethyl)) ammoniumethanate monomer is performed by dissolving 12.2 gram (0.08 mole) ofdimethylamine ethyl acrylate and 8.1 gram (0.08 mole) of sodiumchloroacetate in 60 gm of distilled water in a 250 ml beaker. Aftermixing and reacting for 24 hours at room temperature, the solution isplaced in a vacuum condenser to remove a majority of the solvent. Afterwashing with a large amount of acetone, the viscous material at thebottom of the beaker is collected as the end product. Thereafter, theupper layer acetone is removed. The viscous material in the beaker isdried inside an oven under a pressure of 1 torr and at room temperaturefor two days, and is subsequently collected as the DAAE monomer.

After obtaining the DAAE monomer, the polymerization of PAAM/DAAE isperformed. In a four-necked reaction flask, 30 gm of acrylamide and 8.12gm of the DAAE monomer are dissolved in 107.5 gm of distilled water. Thesolution is then placed under a nitrogen gas stream for 20 minutes.Thereafter, 70 gm of distilled water is placed in another reactionflask, followed by subjecting the distilled water to an nitrogen gasstream for 10 minutes. 5.406 gm of potassium persulfate and 0.856 gm ofsodium thiosulfate are added to the distilled water, followed bysubjecting the solution to an nitrogen gas stream for another 10minutes. Thereafter, the solution is poured into the four-neckedreaction flask. After mixing with a mixer for several minutes, themixture is sealed and is allowed to settle for seven days to obtain alight yellow viscous material, which is the PAAM/DAAE derivativecopolymer used as a dispersant of the present invention.

The effectiveness of the present invention can be better illustrated byway of the following examples, but are not to be construed as limitingthe scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Two different dispersants are first dissolved in deionized water,followed by adding a barium titanate powder. In a correspondingexperiment, no dispersant is used. The pHs of the three barium titanatesolutions are adjusted to about 12 using a 1N sodium hydroxide solution.The dispersant added is about 2.5 wt % according to this embodiment ofthe present invention. The volumetric ratio of water to barium titanatepowder is about 95:5. After ball-milling the sample for 24 hours, thedistribution of the particle size is evaluated by a laser particle sizeanalyzer. The particle size distribution of barium titanate in theslurry with different dispersants is illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates the particle size distribution of barium titanate inthe slurry with different dispersants. As shown in FIG. 1, usingPAAM/DAAE as a dispersant, the average particle size (d₅₀) of thedispersion is about 0.9 micron. When PMAAN is used as a dispersant, theaverage particle size (d₅₀) of the dispersion is about 1.0 micron. Theseresults strongly suggest that PAAM/DAAE provides dispersion to thebarium titanate particles.

Since the powder particles have a smaller particle size, the particlescan be more densely packed. In order to confirm the powder particlesformed according to the present invention can be more densely packed,the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of the ceramic sampleare measured. The ceramic sample is formed after the barium titanatesolution having PAAM/DAAE or PMAAN added is subjected to drying,grinding, pressing sintering, silver plating, and thermal treatment. Theresults are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, discussed in following Example2.

EXAMPLE 2

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the amount ofdispersant added and the dielectric constant of the barium titanatesample, under a sintering temperature of 1280° Celsius., for twodifferent dispersants. As shown in FIG. 2, under the sinteringtemperature of 1280° Celsius., the dielectric constant of the bariumtitanate sample with PAAM/DAAE added as a dispersant is higher than thatwith PMAAN added as a dispersant. Therefore, adding PAAM/DAAE as adispersant provides a better dispersion, and the particles can be moredensely packed to increase the dielectric constant of the sample aftersintering. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between theamount of the dispersant added and the dielectric loss of the bariumtitanate sample, under a sintering temperature of 1280° Celsius., fortwo different dispersants. As shown in FIG. 3, as the amount ofdispersant increases, the dielectric loss of the sample having PAAM/DAAEas a dispersant decreases.

EXAMPLE 3

In this example, barium titanate powder and deionized water are providedat a weight ratio of about 3:2, whereas the amount of the dispersant inthe barium titanate slurry varies. The pH value of the slurry isadjusted to about 12. After the aforementioned slurry is ball-milled for24 hours, the viscosity of the slurry having different amounts of thedispsersant added is measured using a Brookfield DV-II viscometer, andthe result is illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, when thedispersant is about 3.0 wt %, the viscosity is decreased to about 30cps, which indicates that using PAAM/DAAE as a dispersant can reduce theviscosity of the barium titanate slurry and provide better dispersion.

EXAMPLE 4

To confirm that the dispersion of the suspension prepared according tothe present invention is good, an experiment is conducted wherein thechange of the sediment volume is measured. The sediment volume refers tothe space distributed over by the particles in the entire suspension.Barium titanate and deionized water are provided at a volumetric ratioof 5:95, whereas the amount of the dispersant in the slurry varies. ThepH value of the slurry is adjusted to about 12. After being ball-milledfor 24 hours, the barium titanate slurry is poured into a graduatedcylinder and is allowed to settle in a sealed condition. Changes in thesedimentation volume are observed, and the results are shown in FIGS. 5and 6.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between thesedimentation time of the barium titanate slurry and the sedimentationvolume at different weight percents of PAAM/DAAE. FIG. 6 is a diagramillustrating the relationship between the sedimentation time of thebarium titanate slurry and the sedimentation volume at different weightpercents of PMAAN. As shown in FIG. 5, when no dispersant is added tothe barium titanate slurry, particles tend to agglomerate and are notwell dispersed. Consequently, the sedimentation rate is fast and amajority of the particles are settled within 5 hours. Two layers ofwater and sediment are easily observed in the graduated cylinder. Whenthe amount of PAAM/DAAE is greater than 0.7%, the dispersion is good. Amajority of the barium titanate particles is suspended in the graduatedcylinder and very little sediment is present. The suspension in thegraduated cylinder appears turbid and no distinguishable layers areobserved. Referring to FIG. 6, when PMAAN is added to the bariumtitanate slurry, sedimentation tends to occur due to the agglomerationof particles. Particles are completely settled to the bottom withinabout 20 days. In summary, adding PAAM/DAAE to the barium titanateslurry as a dispersant definitely improve the dispersion and stability.

Further, using the conventional PMAAN as a dispersant for the bariumtitanate slurry, abnormal grain growth often occurs during the hightemperature sintering process due to the dissolution of barium ions. Toconfirm the present invention can overcome such deficiency, thefollowing experiment is conducted.

EXAMPLE 5

Barium titanate and deionized water are provided at a volumetric ratioof 5:95, whereas the amount of the dispersant in the slurry varies. ThepH value of the slurry is adjusted to about 12. After being ball-milledfor 24 hours, the slurry is centrifuged at 10000 rpm for 20 minutes. Thesupernatant is collected and is measured with an inductive couplingplasma atomic emission spectrum analyzer. The concentration of ions isdetermined based on the intensity of the spectrum, and the result isshown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship betweenthe weight percents of the dispersant added and the amount of thedissolved barium ions. As shown in FIG. 7, when PMAAN is used as adispersant, the amount of barium ions dissolved increases, indicatingthat the PMAAN dispersant increases the dissolution of the barium ions,whereas using PAAM/DAAE as a dispersant, the amount of dissolved bariumions is minimal. Accordingly, adding PAAM/DAAE to the barium titanateslurry, the dissolution of barium ions is less than that when PMAAN isadded to the slurry.

Second Embodiment

Before detailing the second embodiment of the present invention, theformation of the dispersant used in the present invention is discussedbelow.

Method of Forming the Copolymer as a Dispersant

The formation of .beta.-carboxylate-N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) acrylamide(CDPA) comprises dissolving 19.6 gm maleic anhydride in 80 gm ofacetone, further by drop adding 20.4 gm of dimethyl-1,3-propylenediamine. Mixing is continued for two hours after addingdimethyl-1,3-propylene diamine to ensure the reaction is completed.After being vacuum filtered and washing with acetone, the filtered solidpowder is dried in a non-heated vacuum oven for two days.

After obtaining the CDPA, the formation of the monomer DAE is performed,wherein 20 gm of CDPA is dissolved in 60 gm of distilled water. Thesolution is neutralized to a pH of about 9-10, followed by adding 11.8gm of sodium chloroacetate. Thereafter, the solution is mixed at roomtemperature for about 6 hours. A majority of the solvent is removed in avacuum condenser, followed by washing with a large amount acetone. Afterthe acetone is removed, the sample is dried under vacuum in an oven at 1torr and room temperature for two days to collect the DAE monomer.

After obtaining the DAE monomer, the polymerization of the poly(acrylamide/.alpha.-(N,N-dimethyl-N-(3-(.beta.-carboxylate) acrylamino)propyl) ammonium ethanate) PAAM/DAE is conducted by first preparing twosolutions. Solution 1 is prepared by dissolving 30 gm of acrylamide and12.8 gm of DAE monomer in 136 gm of distilled water, followed byexposing the solution to a nitrogen gas stream for 20 minutes. Solution2 is prepared by exposing 35 gm of distilled water to a nitrogen gasstream for 10 minutes, followed by adding 2.14 gm of potassiumpersulfate and 0.428 gm of sodium thiosulfate to the distilled water andexposing the solution to a nitrogen gas stream for another 10 minutes.Thereafter, Solution 2 is added to Solution 1. After mixing for severalminutes, the mixture is sealed and is allowed to settle, and PAAM/DAE iscollected after three days.

The effectiveness of the present invention can be better illustrated byway of the following examples, in which PAAM/DAE is actually applied.These examples are representative of an aspect of the present inventionwhich are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Two different types of dispersant and one type of barium titanate powderare used to prepare two different barium titanate powder suspensions.The two types of dispersant used include PAAM/DAE and PMAAN (Darvan C).

The two different dispersants are first dissolved in deionized water,followed by adding the barium titanate powder. The pH values of thebarium titanate suspensions are adjusted to 12 using a 1N sodiumhydroxide solution. The weight percents of dispersant to barium titanatepowder used in preparing the suspensions of the present invention are0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.2, 1.5, 2, and the weight percent of the barium titanatepowder in the slurry is about 20. The samples are then ball-milled for24 hours, and the particle size distribution is determined using a laserparticle size analyzer. The particle size (d₁₀) of the three differentbarium titanate suspensions as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the particle size (d₁₀) of the bariumtitanate suspensions at different weight percents of the dispersants. Asshown in FIG. 8, when the dispersant is 0.8 weight %, the particle sizeis about 0.085 microns when PAAM/DAE is used as the dispersant, whereasthe particle size is about 0.272 microns when PMAAN is used as thedispersant. These results indicate that PAAM/DAE provides a betterdispersion to the smaller size barium titanate particles. Since thesmaller size powder particles can fill the space between the largerparticles, the packing density is higher.

EXAMPLE 2

The dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of the ceramic sampleare measured, wherein the ceramic sample is formed after the bariumtitanate solutions having PAAM/DAE or PMAAN added is subjected todrying, grinding, pressing, sintering, silver plating and thermaltreatment. The results are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2 TABLE 1Sintering Temperature 1200° C. 1300° C. Dielectric PAAM/DAE 2180 2250Constant PMAAN 1920 2070

As shown in Table 1, under different sintering temperatures, thedielectric constant of the ceramic sample having PAAM/DAE added as adispersant is higher than that having PMAAN added. These results suggestthat PAAM/DAE provides better dispersion, a higher packing density and ahigher, sintered dielectric constant. TABLE 2 Sintering Temperature1200° C. 1300° C. Dielectric PAAM/DAE 0.021 0.025 Loss PMAAN 0.026 0.029

As shown in Table 2, under different sintering temperatures, addingPAAM/DAE as a dispersant results in a lower sintered dielectric loss.

EXAMPLE 3

Barium titanate and deionized water are provided at a weight ratio of3:2, whereas the amount of the dispersant in the slurry varies. Theweight percents of dispersant to barium titanate powder are 0.3, 0.5,0.8, 1, 1.2, 1.5, and 2, respectively. The pH value of the slurry aftermixing is adjusted to about 12. Thereafter, the slurry is ball-milledfor 24 hours. The viscosity of the slurry having different amounts ofPAAM/DAE added is measured using a Brookfield DV-II viscometer, and theresults are shown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the viscosity of theslurry is lowered to about 14.4 cps when the dispersant is 0.8% (weightratio of dispersant to powder). The result suggests that adding PAAM/DAEas a dispersant lowers the viscosity of the barium titanate slurry tohave better dispersion.

EXAMPLE 4

To confirm the suspensions prepared according the present inventionprovide a more desirable dispersing effect, an experiment is conductedby preparing barium titanate powder in deionized water at a weight ratioof about 1:4. The weight percents of the dispersant to the bariumtitanate powder are 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5, respectively. The pH of theslurry after mixing is adjusted to about 12. After ball-milling theslurry for 24 hours; the barium titanate slurry is poured into agraduated cylinder, sealed and allowed to settle. Changes in thesedimentation height are observed, and the results are summarized inFIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between thesedimentation time and the sedimentation height at different weightpercents of PAAM/DAE. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationshipbetween the sedimentation time and the sedimentation height at differentweight percents of PMAAN. The sediment height refers to the percent ofthe total height of the dispersion distributed over by the particles. Asshown in FIG. 10, when no dispersant is added to the barium titanateslurry, particles would agglomerate and are not dispersed well.Consequently, the sedimentation rate is fast. Further, a majority of theparticles are settled within 5 hours. The two layers of water andsediment can be distinguishably observed in the graduated cylinder. Whenthe PAAM/DAE additive is greater than 1%, dispersion is favorable,wherein the majority of the barium titanate particles remain suspendedin the graduated cylinder and very little sediment is observed. Thesuspension in the graduated cylinder is turbid and no distinguishablelayers are observed. Referring to FIG. 11, adding PMAAN (Darvan C) tothe barium titanate slurry, sediment tends to occur due to theagglomeration of particles. Accordingly, adding PAAM/DAE to the bariumtitanate slurry as a dispersant improves dispersion and stability.

EXAMPLE 5

Further, using the conventional PMAAN as a dispersant for the bariumtitanate slurry, the dissolution of barium ions is high leading to a lowsintered packing density. To confirm the present invention can overcomesuch deficiency, the following experiment is conducted.

Barium titanate and deionized water are provided at a weight ratio of1:4, whereas the amount of the dispersant in the slurry varies. Theweight percents of the dispersant to the barium titanate powder are 0,0.5, 1, and 1.5, respectively. The pH of the slurry after mixing is thenadjusted to about 12. After ball milling the sample for 24 hours, thesample is centrifuged at 10000 rpm for 20 minutes. The supernatant iscollected and is measured with an inductive coupling plasma atomicemission spectrum analyzer. The result is shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is adiagram showing the relationship between the amount of dispersant addedand the amount of barium ions dissolved. As shown in FIG. 12, when PMAANis used as a dispersant, the amount of barium ions dissolved increases,indicating that PMAAN increases the dissolution of the barium ions,whereas using PAAM/DAE as a dispersant, the amount of the dissolvedbarium ions is minimal. Accordingly, adding PAAM/DAE to the bariumtitanate slurry, the dissolution of the barium ions is less than thatwhen PMAAN is added to the slurry.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present inventioncovers modifications and variations of this invention provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A method for processing a ceramic powder suspension, comprising:providing a dispersant, wherein the dispersant has a followingstructure:

wherein R is a H⁺ ion, an Na⁺ ion, an NH₄ ⁺ ion or other cationic group;m is an integer from 10 to 5000; and n is an integer from 10 to 3000;dissolving the dispersant in a solvent; and adding a ceramic powder intothe solvent to form a slurry.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thesolvent comprises deionized water.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theceramic powder comprises a barium titanate powder.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein an amount of the dispersant added is about 0.5 wt % toabout 3.5 wt %.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein subsequent to addingthe ceramic powder into the solvent further comprises adding a sodiumhydroxide solution to adjust a pH value of the slurry.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein a concentration of the sodium hydroxide solution isabout 1N to adjust the pH value to about
 12. 7. The method of claim 1,wherein after adding the ceramic powder to the solvent further comprisesball-milling the slurry.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step ofball-milling the slurry is conducted for 24 hours.